Hidden
by JustAnotherBaggins
Summary: Abused for years, Bella Swan finally escapes, heading towards her future. With the help of her mate and new family, can she finally banish her past and learn to love again?


**Hey guys! I'm not going to make this long so I just want to say, enjoy!** **Warning: this is not a particularly happy fic, it includes mentions and themes of violence and abuse. If you are triggered by mentions of family violence or sexual abuse then I apologize but it would be best if you either stopped reading right now or approached this carefully.** **I do not own Twilight.**

"You're such a cry baby!" Renée yelled at her daughter, watching as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "God, I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to stand it! I can't even go out without you crying when I get home, it's like you're so fucked up in the head that you just want others to be miserable with you." She glared at her 6 year old daughter, her lip curling up into a sneer. "Why can't you just be normal for once, and smile. You're a kid, you're supposed to smile, not cry with a baby." Bella just hugged herself, her lip trembling. Pulling back her hand, Renée slapped her, the force snapping the young girl's head to the side sharply. "Get to your room and stay quiet. I don't want to hear a fucking peep out of you or else you're in trouble." Eyes wide with childlike fear, Bella turned and ran, hurrying into her small room and sliding under her bed, trembling and whimpering quietly. To her, the slap wasn't uncommon, but what was uncommon was the fact that Bella understood everything like a child shouldn't be able to. Her father wasn't around, but not by choice. Renèe forced the separation, knowing she would get everything that came with raising a child as a single mother. Even at this age, Bella knew her mother was not a good person. She allowed herself to get pregnant at such a young age and then once she was born, Renée left her father and filed for a divorce. The abuse started a year ago, when she hit 5. Her mother had gone out on a date and came back, drunk and hauling a younger man behind her. All Bella had done that night was exist, when Renée's date had taken one look at her and scowled. "You didn't tell me you had a brat. Sorry but I'm not going to raise someone else's fuckup." He had stormed out a minute later and within seconds Renée had raised her hand and swung it down, the swift slap connecting to the young girls cheek, leaving a bright red mark. "It's all your fault! All your fucking fault!" Many more insults were hurled her way that night, but all Bella could think was "why does mummy not love me?"

It became a constant thing in Bella's life, for her mother to raise a hand to her. From that very first slap, it seemed that no matter what she did, Bella was a disappointment. When she didn't cook, she was hit. When she didn't keep the house clean, she was hit. When she cried, she was hit. Every time her mother brought a guy home, Bella hid, knowing that if she didn't then Renée would beat her black and blue. She became a quiet child after the first slap, and that carried over into her early teens. When she hit 13 however, Renée brought home Phil. He was worse than Renée in every way. She was forced to call him 'dad' and he didn't just hit her – no he would burn her, cut her, throw bottles at her, lock her in her room for days on end, and broke her bones. He was sadistic in his abuse, a smile always on his face and sometimes standing over her bleeding broken body, hungrily kissing Renée as if his very life depended on it. There was one line he never crossed and for that Bella was forever thankful. The systematic abuse continued until she was 18, but by then the damage was already done. Her body was littered with scars and every single second of torture was etched into her memory forever.

She was 18, finally. Renée and Phil had gone out for the day, not even bothering to remember her birthday – but this was something she was happy with. It meant that they couldn't try and stop. Packing her few clothes into a small duffle bag, she grabbed her secret stash of cash and ran out the door, flying like the very devil was behind her. It didn't take her long to reach the airport, the cabbie trying his best the entire way to get her to talk to no avail. She paid and climbed out of the car, making her way inside and to her plane that was almost ready to takeoff. "Plane to Volterra Italy, about to take off. Please sit back and enjoy the flight." Bella had considered fleeing to her father, but she knew that was the first place her mother would look and she couldn't bear to drag him into all of her troubles. So, she picked Italy. Whether it was a good idea or not, at least she had escaped.

Touching down in Italy, Bella finally allowed herself to breathe easily, relaxing the stiff set of her shoulders as she grab her bag and slowly started to walk outside. With her first step, she felt a smile stretch her lips wide, her soul finally feeling free. The first thing she did was to make her way to the huge castle lying in the middle of the town, and when she reached it she looked up in awe at the huge stone walls still standing strong after all these years. Her heart jumped erratically and she followed the tugging in her chest to a small garden past two gates, hidden in shadow. Her oversized jumped kept her feeling safe if there were any eyes around, and her legs were fully covered to reduce the risk of anyone seeing her scars. Looking around, Bella felt content in the small hidden garden. It almost felt like home… "What are you doing here?" A loud voice interrupted her peace and she instinctively flinched away from the voice, dropping her chin and tucking it into her chest, making herself a small target. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tall figure striding her way, dressed all in black, silver blonde hair racking his shoulders. Caius felt his anger grow, his eyes turning from red to black within seconds as Bella kept quiet. "I asked you a question girl, answer it!" He yelled and Bella stepped back, holding her shaking hands up. "I… I don't know…" She whispered, almost too low even for Caius to hear. Something in him stirred at the mere whisper of her voice and he took another step forwards. "I'm not going to hurt you…" He said calmly, watching as Bella tensed even further for a minute, before slowly lowering her hands and lifting her head. Caius gasped when he met her eyes, and his inner beast started growling and snapping. "MINE!" It roared, the word bouncing around in his mind like a hive of hornets. "What is your name?" He managed to grind out, his eyes still locked on hers. For some reason, he could feel anger start to rise in his body, his muscles tensing as if there was a threat nearby. "B-Bella… Bella Swan." Bella was beyond terrified. The cold black eyes of the man in front of her seemed to peer into her very soul, but the longer she stared into them the more she realized that they had a look of longing in them, and they were slowly turning warm the longer they looked back at her. The longer they stood staring at each other, Bella began to calm down, unconsciously relaxing. Caius could see the change in her, yet his body was still tensed for an attack, an attack he realized that would never come. The sense of danger was coming from his mate, the small fragile girl in front of him. "Bella… What do you know of vampires?" Caius asked, surprised when she looked at him in a new light. "I should have put it together… Blonde hair… You're Caius, aren't you?"

To say he was surprised was an understatement. "Excuse me?" Bella looked at him again, her eyes now calmer and more focused. "I know who you are… I have for a few months now. I met one of your kind, 4 months ago after…" She trailed off, her mind on what had happened before she met the blonde vampire. "He told me all about vampires, and all about the three kings. He explained to me what mates were… And told me I would find mine if I only followed my heart." She abruptly closed her mouth, taking a step back as her phone began to ring in her pocket. Pulling it out, her face paled at the caller ID flashing on the screen. Renée was calling her, something she never did unless she was about to get the beating of her life. Breathing out slowly, she slid her phone back in her pocket and glanced up, only to find a worried Caius standing right in front of her. "Caius… I need help." She whispered, watching his face tighten and then nod. "Anything."

"A human? Lunch was an hour ago brother, but I appreciate the offer." No one could have anticipated the reaction of the blonde king – he crouched down in front of her protectively, snarling at his brother. Aro simply laughed while Marcus stared on, as usual he was bored. It took a minute for Caius to straighten up, a growl still rumbling in his chest. "She's my mate. No one touches her or I will rip their head off and burn them." The entire guard nodded, Bella seemingly detached from everything happening around her. In a whisper, Aro was in front of her, his hand outstretched to grab hers. Instinctively, Bella ducked her head, covering it with her arms as she shook in terror, holding her breath and staying absolutely still minus the minute shudders that ran through here body. "I'm not going to harm you dear one, I simply want to read you." Bella counted to 10 before uncurling and holding out her hand to Aro. The second they touched, Aro buckled, his knees hitting the ground hard and his head rolling back. After a few minutes, he raised his head and everyone could see the fear in his eyes. "Never again." It came out as a strangled whisper as he locked eyes with Bella, the king visibly shaken by whatever he saw. Bella ripped her hand back, stepping away and looking at Caius. "I need your help, all of you. I've known about vampires for 4 months now, and the only reason I'm still human is because Peter told me my mate would change me himself, so please, don't hurt him or his mate. They did nothing wrong." Taking a deep breath, Bella closed her eyes. "for the past 13 years my mother has beat me black and blue, breaking bones and destroying my life. It started when I was 5. She brought home a guy who was 20, 10 years younger than her 30. The second he saw me however, he bailed, claiming he didn't want to raise someone else's 'fuckup'. It was the first time she hit me, claiming it was all my fault. All I could think was, why didn't she love me? Why was she hurting me? So from then on it continued. I cried, I got hit. She brought a guy home, I got beat black and blue if he found out I existed. I did anything she didn't like, she'd hit me until something broke. It all changed when I was 13." Slowly, she slid off her jumper and pants, standing there in a pair of exercise shorts and sports bra. "Phil was even worse than her. He loved hearing me scream and found delight in discovering new ways to hurt me. Broken bottles, knives, chains and lighters. He didn't just beat me until something broke, he would purposely kick my ribs or stomp on my arms and legs until they shattered, and then hit me more when I couldn't do what he asked in the following days. He never crossed that final line and that's the one thing I will be forever grateful for. When I was 16, I forgot to cook him dinner, school and work was running me into the ground and with the constant beatings I was letting things slip. He held me by the throat against a wall until I passed out. When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that he was dragging me towards the bathroom. That was the first time he held my head under the water. I almost died that day. It happened 5 more times after that, each one more terrifying than the last. It was hell on earth. And then it happened. Phil had cut me too deep one day, deep slices all over my body. I was losing blood too quickly and I should have died. That was when Peter and Charlotte found me. Renee was shopping, Phil was off to work and I was alone, bleeding out on the floor. Peter slammed down the door and as soon as he saw me he knew he couldn't just let me die, but he couldn't change me either. So he licked the wounds, sealing them. He saved my life and then he explained what he was and everything about your world. Since that day I've talked to them both every second I could, telling them everything. They became the only reason I'm still alive today." Bella finished telling her story, hearing the deep growls from the vampires in the room reach an all time high. It seemed every being there was angry, filled with fury over what she had been through. Not just because she was Caius' mate, but because there was something about her that drew them to her, making them feel like she was the little sister they never had. They took in her body, eyes glancing over the skin that seemed to be covered in scars, new and old.

Just when Bella thought they were going to quiet down, her phone rang, the caller ID flashing up and making her go pale. With a trembling hand, she leant down and picked it up, answering the call.

 **I hope you enjoyed this guys, I'd just like to say that I detest people who think they have a god given right to hurt someone just because they gave life to them.** **Never be ashamed or afraid to speak out because there will always be someone who believes you and cares about you.** **All of us here are not only a community but we're a family brought together by one thing - a love of writing.** **If you are or have been a victim of violence, know you are not alone and that you are worth it.** **Some of this is from personal experiences, whether it be seeing it happen or having it happen to me, and I'm sorry if this has upset anyone or has made them uncomfortable.** **This fic does get happier, I promise you.**


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